Deaton Explains Why Ruling in Ripple v. SEC Case Could Take 2 More Months

The community had expected a ruling yesterday.

The case between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple remains one of the most followed cases in the crypto community. Pundits have asserted that the ruling on the so-called summary judgment gains increased importance with each day as the SEC ramps up its crypto enforcement action.

Based on a prediction from Attorney James K. Filan – a defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor who followed the case closely – many expected a ruling yesterday. However, this did not happen.

Now, Attorney John E. Deaton, who represents thousands of XRP holders as a friend of the court in the case, in a Twitter thread yesterday, has clarified that there was no deadline for Judge Analisa Torres to release the ruling yesterday. Notably, per the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA), the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts prepares a semiannual report of all district court motions awaiting a ruling for over six months.

However, Deaton asserted that the ruling in the Ripple case has been pending for only a little over 3 months.

“Only motions that have been pending more than 6 months must be reported on a list to Congress. The 6 month list does not apply to Judge Torres’ summary judgment ruling b/c the motion has been pending for a little over 3 months.”

It is unclear when this timeline started in the two-year-long legal battle, and Deaton has yet to respond to requests for comment. It bears mentioning that both parties filed all the required documents in the case on Jan. 20.

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The attorney pointed out that historically, Judge Torres has issued her ruling on summary judgment within months of her ruling on Daubert’s motions. Consequently, he expects a ruling to come anytime within 30 to 60 days.

There is no deadline of today for her to rule. The decision could come out within the next hour or it could take another 30-60 days. Based on previous cases, Judge Torres has issued her ruling on summary judgment within a couple months of her Daubert/Experts’ decision.

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) March 31, 2023

Recall that the ruling on Daubert motions came early last month and was widely hailed as a victory for Ripple. At the time, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty implied that the ruling had boosted the defendants’ confidence.

In the case, the SEC claims that Ripple’s sale of XRP to raise capital violated securities laws. The regulator argues that Ripple should have registered XRP as an unregistered security. Ripple and the XRP community disagree.

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